1960 United States presidential election in Arizona

The 1960 United States presidential election in Arizona took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose four[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1960 United States presidential election in Arizona

November 8, 1960[1]
 
Nominee Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Massachusetts
Running mate Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Lyndon B. Johnson
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 221,241 176,781
Percentage 55.5% 44.4%

County Results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

Arizona was won by incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., with 55.52% of the popular vote, against Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 44.36% of the popular vote.[3][4]

Since achieving statehood in 1912, Arizona had voted for the winner in every election. In 1960, Arizona lost its bellwether status when it voted for Nixon over the eventual victor Kennedy, a sign that the state was trending Republican. It would not vote Democratic again until 1996, and after 1996, until 2020.

Primaries

Democratic state convention

While Arizona did not hold a formal primary to select delegates to represent the state at the Democratic National Convention, it did hold a state convention in April where delegates were selected.[5]

Since Arizona traditionally operated under the "unit role" at conventions (under which the entire delegation voted for one candidate as a unified bloc), a candidate who could secure a simple majority of their delegation's support would be able to receive the votes of all 17 delegates.[5]

By early 1959, Kennedy's campaign saw strong potential in the state, and recognized a need to organize their efforts there.[5] Arizona was added to the list of states which they began to prioritize as targets for Kennedy to compete in during the primaries.[5] As the primary season unfolded, Kennedy increasingly recognized the state convention as an opportunity to secure delegates in advance of the convention.[5] This arose as an opportunity for Kennedy due to Lyndon B. Johnson's steadfast refusal to launch an active candidacy during the primaries.[5] Rather thank seeking support as a declared candidate, Johnson was relying on a covert, ultimately ineffective, effort to deliver him the support of Arizona's delegation.[5] Johnson was counting on 81 year old senator Carl Hayden and former senator Ernest McFarland to deliver him the state's delegation.[5] Both would ultimately prove to have long since expended their political capital in the state.[5]

Kennedy operative Ted Sorensen found, early on, that the state party chairman, Tucson mayor Don Hummel, was willing to help the Kennedy campaign.[5] Kennedy's campaign's primary base for their Arizona operations was in Pima County, where Hummel lent his grassroots prowess to them.[5]

The primary actor in shoring up Kennedy's support in the state, however, was congressman Stewart Udall.[5] Both Udall and his prover, former county prosecutor Mo Udall, proved themselves to be committed supporters of Kennedy's campaign.[5] A few days prior to the state convention, Sam Rayburn (a Johnson ally) summoned Stewart Udall to the Speaker's Platform in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol.[5] He inquired as to whether Udall was going to be an active figure in the state convention, which Udall confirmed that he would be.[5] Rayburn responded sternly, "Well, I have a candidate for the nomination, my colleague from Texas. I don't want you to hurt him."[5] Udall attempted to placate Rayburn by saying, "Mr. Speaker, I am not trying to hurt anybody. I committed myself several months ago to John Kennedy, and I am going to do everything I can to help him. I am not trying to hurt your man. As a matter of fact, if Kennedy can't get the support, your man is obviously the man who will. If I can't put Kennedy over, I'm not going against him."[5]

After a string of hostile caucuses to select delegates, the state convention ultimately produced a delegation that favored Kennedy (with two-thirds of the delegates being Kennedy supporters).[5]

Results

1960 United States presidential election in Arizona
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Nixon 221,241 55.52%
Democratic John F. Kennedy 176,781 44.36%
Socialist Labor Eric Hass 469 0.12%
Total votes 398,491 100%

Results by county

County Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Democratic
Eric Hass
Socialist Labor
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Apache 1,568 51.75% 1,459 48.15% 3 0.10% 109 3.60% 3,030
Cochise 7,572 50.46% 7,419 49.44% 16 0.11% 153 1.02% 15,007
Coconino 4,870 54.45% 4,065 45.45% 9 0.10% 805 9.00% 8,944
Gila 3,806 41.99% 5,251 57.93% 8 0.09% -1,445 -15.94% 9,065
Graham 2,491 54.35% 2,091 45.63% 1 0.02% 400 8.73% 4,583
Greenlee 1,313 29.94% 3,069 69.97% 4 0.09% -1,756 -40.04% 4,386
Maricopa 127,090 59.37% 86,834 40.57% 135 0.06% 40,256 18.81% 214,059
Mohave 1,641 55.59% 1,303 44.14% 8 0.27% 338 11.45% 2,952
Navajo 4,090 57.19% 3,052 42.68% 9 0.13% 1,038 14.52% 7,151
Pima 46,734 52.43% 42,171 47.31% 239 0.27% 4,563 5.12% 89,144
Pinal 6,441 47.07% 7,232 52.85% 11 0.08% -791 -5.78% 13,684
Santa Cruz 1,265 40.35% 1,868 59.59% 2 0.06% -603 -19.23% 3,135
Yavapai 6,813 61.12% 4,325 38.80% 9 0.08% 2,488 22.32% 11,147
Yuma 5,547 45.45% 6,642 54.42% 15 0.12% -1,095 -8.97% 12,204
Totals221,24155.52%176,78144.36%4690.12%44,46011.16%398,491

References

  1. "United States Presidential election of 1960 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  2. "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  3. "1960 Presidential General Election Results - Arizona". Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  4. "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1960". Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  5. Oliphant, Thomas; Wilkie, Curtis (2017). The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Simon & Schuster.
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